Heroes of the Cold House, Part III

I’m giving a Hero award this week to a fellow named Windrider, a self-described “shamelessly unreconstructed hippie”, who left the following comment on the USA Today article linked in the previous post:

“It probably wouldn’t be fair for me to participate in this since I have no furnace at all, despite living in Ohio where it *can* get kinda nippy, especially last week when it was sub-zero weather with the wind. However, when I lost my house and settled for an old single-wide trailer that I could buy outright, it had no furnace. The previous owners had taken out their propane furnace last winter because it was costing them over $400/month to keep the small trailer at 65. I have an electric fireplace in the living room, a space heater and wall-mounted gel fuel fireplace in the bedroom. The study is closed off right now until I can have a new circuit run to that room, where I will also use an electric fireplace and gel fuel fireplace. While last week was quite cold, the trailer never got colder than 60 degrees in the living room and 64 in the bedroom (which felt much warmer due to the low ceiling and size of the room). I have adapted pretty well to being a little cooler and wearing a few more clothes, and am actually warmer here than in my old two-story stick house where my gas bill was often $400 or more PLUS an electric bill of $150+. My total electric bill here, which covers ALL utility needs, has been less than $125/month regardless of whether I was running two ACs or the fireplace and cyclonic heater.

We can all find ways to do better with less while it’s still quasi-optional. In another generation or two, being very energy-frugal may be mandatory just to survive. Because sooner or later, the oil and the gas and the coal WILL run out and given our unwillingness to prepare for those times in advance, our grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be a lot less warm in the winter than we are.”

Good for you, Windrider. Small house, dividing your living space up to heat only what you need, thinking about the future and the great-grandkids. I’m sorry you came to this through the tragedy of losing your house, but you seem to be finding silver linings.

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